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A

Seminar report

on

“Genetic Engineering”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree

of Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

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CONTENTS

Introduction

What is Genetic Engineering

History

Techniques of Genetic Engineering

Prospects for Genetic Engineering

Transgenic plants and animals

Cloning

Dangers of Genetic Engineering

Advantages

Conclusion

References

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Introduction

What is genetics?

Genetics is the scientific study of genes, i.e. variations in the characteristics --

resemblances and differences -- of organisms and how these characteristics are inherited

from generation to generation. Modern genetics is as much concerned with the organism

level of this process as it is with the cellular and molecular levels.

What are genes?

A gene is a fuzzy concept which depends upon who is using the term and in what context.

For the earliest geneticists, genes were fairly distinct traits or characteristics which could

be observed in the whole organism. For the modern molecular biologist or molecular

geneticist a more chemical definition of a gene is used which brings in a number of

additional concepts. The molecular gene is a definite sequence of bases in the DNA chain

which together code for the production of a particular protein.

What is genetic engineering?

Engineering is the technological manipulation of the objects of the natural world in a way

that is perceived to be beneficial to people. Traditionally we used the word in the context

of inanimate nature: bridges, railways and machines etc. But the term can be used and is

used in the context of biology, namely for bioengineering, i.e. modifying or manipulating

living organisms. Another term used in place of the term 'genetic engineering' is

'biotechnology'.

Definition of Genetic Engineering

“Genetic engineering is the technology for modifying the genetic information in a plant,

animal or human in order to produce some desired trait or characteristic”

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History of Genetic Engineering

Modern genetic engineering began in 1973 when Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen used

enzymes to cut a bacteria plasmid and insert another strand of DNA in the gap. Both bits

of DNA were from the same type of bacteria, but this milestone, the invention of

recombinant DNA technology, offered a window into the previously impossible -- the

mixing of traits between totally dissimilar organisms. To prove that this was possible,

Cohen and Boyer used the same process to put a bit of frog DNA into bacteria.

Since 1973, this technology has been made more controllable by the discovery of

new enzymes to cut the DNA differently and by mapping the genetic code of different

organisms. Now that we have a better idea of what part of the genetic code does what,

we have been able to make bacteria that produce human insulin for diabetics (previously

came from livestock), as well as EPO for people on kidney dialysis (previously came

from urine of people in third world countries with ringworm).

In 1990, a young child with an extremely poor immune system received genetic therapy.

Some of her white blood cells were genetically manipulated and re-introduced into her

bloodstream while she watched Sesame Street. These new cells have taken over for the

original, weak white cells, and her immune system now works properly. Although

relatively few people have had their cells genetically altered, these advances have made

the prospect of mainstream genetic medicine seem more likely.

As of late summer of 1998, scientists are able to add simple traits to organisms. They

cannot create custom-made animals. They cannot always predict how traits will interact.

Before phenomenally new advances can be made, scientists have to learn how to affect

cells' DNA with pin-point accuracy, without affecting other traits. Advances like genetic

correction for nearsightedness are a long way off. The power of science is limited to

knowledge about genetics, gene locations, and trait interactions, but as knowledge grows,

so will scientists' abilities to manipulate life.

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Techniques of Genetic Engineering

Recombinant DNA techniques use biological vectors like plasmids and viruses to carry

foreign genes into cells. Plasmids are small circular pieces of genetic material found in

bacteria that have the ability to cross species boundaries. The circles can be broken and

new genetic material added to them. Plasmids augmented with new genetic material can

move across microbial cell boundaries and place the new genetic material next to the

bacterium's own genes. Often the bacteria will take up the gene and begin to produce the

protein for which the gene codes. Where the new gene codes for insulin, for example, the

bacterium will begin to produce insulin along with its other gene products. A large vat of

bacteria engineered to produce insulin can then become a sort of pharmaceutical factory.

Viruses can also act as vectors in genetic engineering. Viruses are infectious particles that

contain genetic material to which a new gene can be added. The virus can carry the new

gene into a recipient cell in the process of infecting that cell. The virus can also be

disabled so that while it can carry a new gene into a cell, it cannot redirect the cell's

genetic machines to make thousands of copies of itself.

Transformation: - Transformation is a process by which a cell takes up naked DNA

fragment from the environment, incorporates it into its own chromosomal DNA, and

finally expresses the trait controlled by the incoming DNA.

Transduction: - Transfer of DNA from one organism to another through a bacteriophage

is called transduction.

Examples

1. Transduction from bacterium to bacterium.

2. Transduction from bacteria to Human cells.

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Prospects for Genetic Engineering

Transgenic Engineering:-

Putting genetic information from one type of plant or animal into another

Plants:-

Transgenic plants possess a gene or genes that have been transferred from a different

species. Although DNA of another species can be integrated in a plant genome by natural

processes, the term "transgenic plants" refers to plants created in a laboratory using

recombinant DNA technology. The aim is to design plants with specific characteristics by

artificial insertion of genes from other species or sometimes entirely different kingdoms.

The intentional creation of transgenic plants by laboratory based recombinant DNA

methods is more recent (from the mid-70s on) and has been a controversial development

in the field of biotechnology opposed vigorously by many NGOs, and several

governments, particularly within the European Community. These transgenic

recombinant plants ( biotech crops, modern transgenics) are transforming agriculture in

those regions that have allowed farmers to adopt them, and the area sown to these crops

has continued to grow globally in every years since their first introduction in 1996.

Transgenic recombinant plants are generated in a laboratory by adding one or more

genes to a plant's genome,and the techniques frequently called transformation.

Transformation is usually achieved using gold particle bombardment or through the

process of Horizontal gene transfer using a soil bacterium, Agrobacterium tumefaciens,

carrying an engineered plasmid vector, or carrier of selected extra genes.

Transgenic recombinant plants are identified as a class of genetically modified

organism(GMO); usually only transgenic plants created by direct DNA manipulation are

given much attention in public discussions.

Transgenic Animal:-

Transgenic mice contain additional foreign DNA in every cell allowing them to be used

to study gene function or regulation and to model human diseases. Transgenic mouse

contains additional, artificially-introduced genetic material in every cell. This often

confers a gain of function, for example the mouse may produce a new protein, but a loss

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of function may occur if the integrated DNA interrupts another gene. A transgenic mouse

a very useful system for studying mammalian gene function and regulation because

analysis is carried out on the whole organism.

Transgenic mice are also used to model human diseases that involve the over expression

or misexpression of a particular protein.

Making Transgenic Mice:-

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Cloning:-

Making genetic copies of an existing human plant or animal.

Asexual breeding in plants & lower animals.

Human:-

Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human being, human

cell, or human tissue. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning;

human clones in the form of identical twins are commonplace, with their cloning part of

the natural process of reproduction.

Although genes influence behavior and cognition, "genetically identical" does not mean

altogether identical; identical twins, despite being natural human clones with nearly

identical DNA, are separate people, with separate experiences and personalities. The

relationship between an "original" and a clone is rather like that between identical triplets

raised apart; they share nearly all of the same DNA, but little of the same environment. A

lively scientific debate on this topic occurred in the journal Nature in 1997. Ultimately,

the question of how similar an original and a clone would be boils down to how much of

personality is determined by genetics, an area still under active scientific investigation.

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DOLLY-1960 Dolly (July 5, 1996 – February 14, 2003), a female sheep or ewe, was the first animal to

be cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer. She was

cloned by Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and colleagues at the Roslin Institute in

Edinburgh, Scotland. Her birth was announced on February 22, 1997 and she lived until

the age of six.

The cell used as the donor for the cloning of Dolly was taken from a mammary gland,

and the production of a healthy clone therefore proved that a cell taken from a specific

body part could recreate a whole individual. More specifically, the production of Dolly

showed that mature differentiated somatic cells in an adult animal's body could under

some circumstances revert back to an undifferentiated pluripotent form and then develop

into any part of an animal. As Dolly was cloned from part of a mammary gland, she was

named after the famously curvaceous country western singer Dolly Parton.

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Cloning since Dolly:-

Cloning of this sort has now been done on cattle, pigs and mice also. The success

rate has improved considerably.Cloning humans begins to show up in science

fiction in 1970s.This is now a realistic possibility.

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Concerns re/ Cloning

The success rate from adult animal cells is still rather low.

This would be unacceptable for cloning humans in most societies.

The evidence suggests that the clones which survive are still not right.

The genetic program has probably not been completely reset.

We still don’t understand what we are doing in cloning from adult cells.

Advantages of Cloning:-

With an adult plant or animal, the breeder knows what its traits are; this is not the

case with fetal cell cloning.

Cloning allows making a genetically identical copy of the desired plant or animal.

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Dangers related to Genetic

Engineering

Imprecise Technology—a genetic engineer moves genes from one

organism to another. A gene can be cut precisely from the DNA of an organism,

but the insertion into the DNA of the target organism is basically random. As a

consequence, there is a risk that it may disrupt the functioning of other genes

essential to the life of that organism.

Side Effects—Genetic engineering is like performing heart surgery with a

shovel. Scientists do not yet understand living systems completely enough to

perform DNA surgery without creating mutations which could be harmful to the

environment and our health. They are experimenting with very delicate, yet

powerful forces of nature, without full knowledge of the repercussions.

Widespread Crop Failure—Genetic engineers intend to

profit by patenting genetically engineered seeds. This means that, when a farmer plants genetically engineered seeds, all

the seeds have identical genetic structure. As a result, if a

fungus, a virus, or a pest develops which can attack this

particular crop, there could be widespread crop failure.

Threatens Our Entire Food Supply—Insects, birds, and wind can

carry genetically altered seeds into neighboring fields and beyond. Pollen from

transgenic plants can cross-pollinate with genetically natural crops and wild

relatives. All crops, organic and non-organic, are vulnerable to contamination

from cross-pollinatation.

No Long-Term Safety Testing—Genetic engineering uses material

from organisms that have never been part of the human food supply to change the

fundamental nature of the food we eat. Without long-term testing no one knows if

these foods are safe.

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Allergic Reactions—Genetic engineering can also produce unforeseen

and unknown allergens in foods.)

Decreased Nutritional Value—transgenic foods may mislead

consumers with counterfeit freshness. A luscious-looking, bright red genetically

engineered

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Advantages

1. Creating new types of human beings with advantageous traits.

2. GM animals can generate pharmaceutical proteins.

3. Quicker, more predictable way to generate new cultivars.

4. Sustainable agriculture

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Conclusion Engineering is the technological manipulation of the objects of the natural world in a

way that is perceived to be beneficial to people. With this technology we modify the

genetic information in a plant, animal or human in order to produce some desired trait

or characteristic which are very beneficial for us.

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References www.ieeeexplore.ieee.org

www.geneticengineering.org

www.wikipedia.com/eneticengineering